February Reading Wrap-Up

Total books read this month: 6 (not too shabby!)

#readmyowndamn books (books I actually own): 4 (!)

Audiobooks: 1

Book Riot Read Harder Challenge tasks completed: 4

✓ 1. Read a horror book – Fledgling by Octavia Butler

✓ 8. Read a book originally published in the decade you were born (1980’s) – The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

✓ 10. Read a book over 500 pages long – The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

✓ 12. Read a book by or about a person that identifies as transgender – All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

 

Favorite book I read this month: I don’t know! It’s a three-way tie. I honestly enjoyed every book I read this month.

 

 

I was so glad I returned to Octavia Butler with Fledgling; I plan to read all of her books eventually, and the unconventional vampire story tagline hooked me completely. It’s a story about vampires that also tackles issues such as consent in relationships and the insidious nature of racism in a fresh way. I’m just so sad that the rest of the trilogy (this was supposed to be the first book) will never be written. But it still works well as a standalone title, and I’ll be reading more Butler this year for sure.

 

 

The Remains of the Day surprised me. I was expecting the Downton Abbey vibe and the classic Ishiguro use of the unreliability of memory as a central theme, but I was not expecting the fascinatingly creepy historical intrigue. And it’s just beautifully written.

 

 

I liked the juxtaposition of magic and science in All the Birds in the Sky; I love when science fiction and fantasy are combined. It kept each chapter fresh since the two main characters had such opposite paths and perspectives. I also liked the realistic climate-change catastrophies and the Magicians-esque vibe I got from the characters.

 

Biggest reading disappointment of the month: The Wise Man’s Fear.

 

 

It’s not that I hated the book–I didn’t even dislike it! I genuinely enjoyed reading the majority of the book, but…parts of it just fell very flat for me as a reader. I was expecting this when I started the series, since I tend to avoid the cliche sort of fantasy where this young white “chosen one” boy becomes famous and powerful and destined for greatness–I greatly prefer creativity in my fantasy reads, and I like when books don’t remind me of anything else–but the thing about the Kingkiller Chronicles is that this trope is done really, really well, and the storytelling is done in a very interesting way. It’s enough to make you forget about all of the overused fantasy tropes that the books contain, because it’s well-written and has this very well-crafted structure. My favorite parts of this series have consistently been the present-day scenes; I find older Kvothe, Bast, and Chronicler so much more interesting than the child characters we encounter earlier in the timeline. (Except Elodin, who is my absolute favorite.) But there really weren’t enough “flash-forwards” in this gigantic book, and too much time was devoted to less interesting storylines (Denna) and less interesting characters (Denna). I just don’t feel that this author’s strength is in writing romance; personally, I’d rather read a book without a romantic storyline than one I just can’t find authentic.

Don’t even get me started on the Felurian parts–while I’m sure the whole elf-princess-sex-goddess-is-suddenly-obsessed-with-our-hero thing is a fantasy that many people are into, as a woman in her mid-twenties, this part just really…bored me. That is, when I wasn’t skeeved out reading about a fifteen-year-old having sex with a milennia-old fae. It just wasn’t new, or interesting, or done well. If you want to make it romantic, make it romantic! If you want to make it creepy, then go full-on creepy! As long as it feels authentic. I don’t mean “realistic,” this is fantasy and I get that. But make it believable, give us some emotion! Instead, it was just sort of ambivalent, while we as readers were supposed to believe that this fifteen-year-old child was learning the best sex moves of all time from this ageless faerie who for some reason had nothing better to do that day. Felurian could have been an interesting character if the author had given her some depth, but the majority of her characterization was that she was very pale and had a personality like a spoiled child. Sorry, not buying it. This fae is thousands of years old! I get tired of these ageless fantasy characters who act in ways that don’t make sense (falling in love with teenagers is the #1 issue)(Edward Cullen). Can’t we find something more interesting for them to talk about?

This turned into a rant, and now I sound like I hated the book. I promise, I didn’t! I actually really enjoyed it, but these things have been bugging me ever since I finished it. I loved the first half of the book when Kvothe was still at school; every time Elodin shows up I know it’s going to be amazing. I love Devi; she’s multi-faceted and intriguing. I love that we’re getting to see the dark side of Kvothe. I loved the part that I’m not going to talk about because it’s a spoiler (you’ll know it when you get there! Such a cool twist). And I love the consistent beginning/ending bookending of the story.

 

What has everyone been reading this month?